FLORISTIC DIVERSITY AND
CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
IN INDIA
Volume -I
CRYPTOGAMS i\ND GYMNOS PERMS
Editors
V.Mudgal
P.K. Hajra
BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
Ministry of Environment and Forests
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
K.P. Singh
G.P. Sinha
Lichens represent a symbiotic association between two different
groups of plants, namely, fungi and algae. In other words, certain species
of fungi have developed mutualistic relationship with a number of algal
taxa. Such a relationship between the two has been so successful that a
large number of fungi (ca 13,500 species - Groombridge, 1992) have opted
for this' symbiotic way of life. The lichen thallus is thus a composite
structure, consisting of two components, the mycobiont - belonging
predominantly to inoperculate ascomycetes; and the photobiont - that
includes taxa of algae and/or cyanobacteria. This association is not just a
rando.m mixture of any fungal taxa and any algal species but seems to be
manifestation of an extremely selective process, that has undergone
evolution through .ages and has developed in many directions. In absence
of authentic fossil records of lichens, coupled with drastic modification of
the thallus in appearance, lichens had been treated as a separate group of
plants in the past. Although, universally considered as part of overall fungal
domain now, mycologists and lichenologists have not been able to fully
integrate the two because of certain unsurmountable barriers in this regard.
And hence the lichens are still treated as a separate entity for all practical
purposes. Such a situation has, therefore, necessitated consideration of
diversity and conservation of this group separately form non-Iichenized
fungi.
Lichens are universally present and are distributed to different
environmental habitats in the world. Many species are of large size and
great beauty. In some cases they form dominant components of the epiphytic
and ground v.egetation. From India, about 2021 species of lichens within
248 genera have been reported. As ours is a vast country, it enjoys a wide
range of topographical and climatological diversity. As a consequence, it
is bestowed upon rich vegetation and diverse flora. Unfortunately, Indian
lichens received much less attention as compared to other groups of plants.
Poor reporting of lichens from here can be understood in this light.
However, later researches starting from fifties or sixties of this century
have considerably swelled the number of species. It is felt that many more
will come to light with futher explorations.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
LICHENS
Initial plant studies in India were carried out by European workers.
Lichens are no exception to this general trend. Some of the earlier lichen
collections made in 19th century are those of Belanger from Peninsular
India, Perrottet from Nilgiri hills, Wallich from Himalayas, Strachey and
Winterbottom from Kumaun hills, Hooker and Thomson from Eastern
Himalayas, Kurz from Bengal and Andaman Islands, J. Thomson from
Assam, and G. Watt from Manipur. Subsequently, these collections
were worked out by Iichenologists like C. Montagne, T. Taylor, C.
Babington, W. Nylander, J. Stirton, J. Mueller Arg., etc. These historical
developments have been discussed in detail by Awasthi (1965) and need
no repetition. Studies carried out by contemporary workers during 196677 were reviewed by A. Singh (\ 980). More recently, Awasthi (\ 988,
1991) has keyed out all Indian, macro and micro-lichen taxa based on his
own studies as well as on that of other lichenologists. We have thus, a
much better understanding of the Indian lichen flora now, which can provide
a base to a somewhat detailed discussion on the topic of diversity ofindian
lichens.
VEGETATION
Lichen vegetation in India is rich both in luxuriance and variety. It is
found on various substarata wherever suitable conditions are available for
its growth. Lichens may be saxicolous, corticolous, terricolous, ramulicolous
or muscicolous. They may also grow on walls, decaying woods, iron pipes,
etc. The nature of lichen vegetation of an area is determined mainly by the
variations in the altitude and climate. Keeping this aspect in view, the lichen
vegetation of India can broadly be classified into 3 major types viz. (I)
tropical and subtropical lichen vegetation, (2) temperate lichen vegetation,
and (3) alpine lichen vegetation. For the discussion of vegetation, the
localities mostly explored by the authors in different states are taken into
consideration.
Tropical and subtropical lichen vegetation
This type of lichen vegetation is usually found below an altitude of
1500 m. The so far explored areas from this type of climate are Andaman
and Nicobar islands; Manipur; Meghalaya; Assam; Nagaland; Arunachal
Pradesh; Sunderbans, Howrah, 24-Parganas and Darjeeling districts in West
Bengal; Pachmarhi hills in Madhya Pradesh; Mount Abu in Rajasthan;
parts of Himachal Pradesh; Mussoorie, Dehradun, Chakrata, Nainital in
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
196
Uttar Pradesh; Some specific localities like parts ofNilgiri and Palni hills.
South Canara, Coorg, Cardamom hills, Agastiar hills and Silent valley etc.
For a better knowledge of tropical lichens, howeve r, more areas need
exploration.
The arboreal elemems. rot:ks, boulders. elc. provide suitable habitats
for growth of lichens. The foot hills below an altitude of 700 m usually
have fewer lichens except in moi st areas, such as Andaman and Nicrobar
islands, Kerala, etc. where luxuriant growth of lichen is encountered even
at sea level. The lichen vegetation changes as the altitude increases. The
evergreen moist fore sts have more luxuriant vegetation than dry deciduou s
forests. The tree trunks of 7erminalia, Dipterocarpus, Elaeocarpus,
Pterocarpus, MelioslHa, Eurya, A1alln/lis. Trema, Schima. Pinus. Quercus,
Michelia, Albizia, etc. are covered usually by the crustose genera of families
Pyrenocarpaceae , Cal ic iaceae , Graph idaceae . The lotremataceae ,
Arthoniaceae, Cyphelliaceae, etc . It is observed that smooth bark of Cit-
rus, Artocarpus heterophyl/us, Cocos nuci/era, Areca catechu, Hevea
brasiliensis, etc, is much preferred by many crustose species of Graphina,
Arthania, Cryptothecia, Thelatrema. etc.
The foliose form s of f'hysc ia , Dirinaria, f'armotrema and
Heterodermia also grow in moist places in assoc iation with crustose form s.
In more moist places Col/ema, Leptogiw/J, Coccocarpia, Sticta, etc , grow
on stones, trees or on Ihe ground, In interior portions of dense forests, lichens are confined to Ihe fringes o f forests or on upper portions of trees,
where enough light and wind currents are available. The roadside trees and
exposed road clIttings al so possess many species o f foliose forms . The
fruticose form s are very few except few cosmopolitan species of Usnea
and Ramalinu which usually occur on upper portions of trees or on exposed
rocks. Cosmopolitan species of fruticose Cladonia spp , usuall y grow on
the ground in shady places. Species of Raceel/o are confined to coastal
areas. growing on trees and stones. Certain lime loving I ichens of genera
Endocarpon, f'eltula and Arthopyrellia stilllhrive well in the polluted atmosphere of the cities of Uttar Pradesh plain s (A, Singh and Upreti , 1984).
They can withstand extreme xeric conditions. Similarly in drier zones of
Rajasthan, the cyanophilous members of families Heppiaceae, Lichinaceae,
Collemataceae and Pyrenopsidaccae grow abundantly in association with
Teloschistaceae, Lecideaceae, Lecanoraceae and Physciaceae, Another rich
area of tropical lichens is Mangrove forests in Sunderbans, the biggest
Gangetic delta between the river Hoogly on the wesl and the Meghna river
on the east. The Cfustose forms dominate here and thrive well on trees of
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
197
Avicennia alba, Sonneratia apetala, Mangifera indica, Phoenix paludosa,
Heritiera minor, Coccus 11ucifera, Nipafruticans, etc. The Sholas (evergreen patches of forests) which are present here and there on the rolling
down of hills occupying sheltered folds of streams or hollows or depressions in Western Ghats, exhibit luxuriant growth of lichen vegetation.
Foliose forms are usually present on the outer edges ofShola trees.
Tropical vegetation is also chracterised by the presence of many
foliicolous species, which thrive in moist, warm and shady places along
the banks of streams, lakes, rivulets or ravines on the leaves of lower
branches of evergreen herbs, shrubs and under-trees. Usually more than
one species grow on the same leaf or on different leaves of the same plant.
The common genera of these Iichens are A ulaxina, Byssoloma, Ca/opadia,
Echinoplaca, Fellhanera, Gyaleclidium, Mazosia, Porina, Slrigu/a,
Tricharia, etc.
Temperate lichen vegetation
The temperate vegetation is found between 1500 - 3600 m, in Western and Eastern Himalayas, higher reaches of North-Eastern states, and
hills of South India. The temperate climate offfers the optimum conditions
for luxuriant growth of foliose and fruticose forms. The forests in temperate zone are not dense and are exposed to rain, open to sun light and wind
currents. These factors usually promote the rich growth of lichens. The
tree trunks of Magnolia campbelii, Caslenopsis indica, different species
of Rhododendron and Quercus, Acer, Symp/ocos, Ascll/us indica, Cornus
capitola, Abies speclabilis, Cupressus species, Tsuga species, Pinus
roxburghii, Pinus kesiya, Cedrus deodara etc. provide suitable habitat for
growth of different species of Parmotrema, Lasa/Uo, Col/ema, Leplogill!"-
(MalloliulII group), Physcia, Physc(}nia, Lobaria, Pseudocyphellaria,
Hypogymnia, Menegazzia, Celrelia, Bryoria, etc. The Crustose forms of
Rinodina, DiplOlomma, Aspicilia, Acarospora, Perlusaria, Ca/op/aca,
Dip/oschisles, Ochro/echia, Leconia, Buellia, etc. are prevalent on exposed
rocks, boulders, on bark of trees and on the ground. Certain crustose species are endolithic or endophloedal according to the development of their
thallus. Thus, their presence can be detected only when they produce fruiting bodies. The fruticose forms of Usnea, Ramalina, Bryoria, and
Te/oschistes hang from the coniferous trees. Fruticose genera Stereocau/on
and Cladonia grow abundantly on the ground as well as on exposed rocks
in moist shady places. Similarly species of Pelligera, Slicta and a few
Lobaria species are well represented in this region and grow on the ground
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
198
or on stones, inside forests in association with mosses along the streams
and rivulets. Temperate lichens are also found growing in abundance in
high level Shola (1600 tc 2400 m) trees in south Indian hills.
Alpine lichen vegetation
This type of lichen vegetation usually occurs at an altitude of about
3600 m and above in the areas like Gomukh, Pindari glacier, Kedarnath,
etc. in Western Himalayas; Nathula pass, Jelepla in Sikkim, Sela pass,
Pangeteng Show, Bumla, Womingla, Nagula pass, higher ridges ofDichu
and Dallai valleys, Taluk pass, Jachup, etc. in Arunachal Pradesh and
Saramati hill ranges in Nagaland. Generic composition of alpine lichen
vegetation is almost the same as found in higher temperate areas but the
species components are different. Large trees are altogether absent, but
species of bushy Rhododendrons, Cotoneaster, Juniperus, Caranga, etc.
provide suitable substrata for growth oflichens. A majority of alpine lichens
are saxicolous or terricolous. On exposed rocks big patches of Crustose
genera Acarospora,. Diplotomma, Lecidea, Lecanora, Rinodina,
Rhizocarpon, etc. are a common sight. The species of Rhizocarpon and
Lecidea are more common near glacier moraines. Other genera found there,
are Hypogymnia, Cande/ariella, Cladonia, Cetraria, Umbilicaria,
Lethariella, Stereocaulon, Thamnolia, etc. Lichenologically alpine zone
is interesting and needs extensive exploration for its detailed knowledge.
LICHENOGEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS
VIS-A-VIS DIVERSITY
Clarke (1898) and Hooker (1907) divided British India into nine
different botanical provinces based chiefly on the sudies ofvascular plants.
While discussing general vegetation, Jain (1990) divided India into nine
botanical regions. Pande (1958) recognized nine Bryogeographical units
in India based on the studies of Bryophytic flora of India. Recent studies
on lichens from various regions similarly show that each region has a
somewhat distinct flora of its own. Accordingly, Indian region can be divided
into 8 lichenogeographical regions (see map). For each lichenogeographical
region, we have taken into account 10 dominant families, 10 largest genera
and other interesting features for considering the diversity of the Indian
lichen flora. However, this statistics may change gradually in near future
when new discoveries, additions and revisions of families and genera are
made エセュ・@
to time.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
199
200
It includes Kumaun and Garhwal regions of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. The topography of the area is irregu lar due
to valleys and plateaus of various dimensions. The lofty snow clad mountain
ranges of this region are far more complex than similar areas of Eastern
Himalayan region, and have a general direction from South-West to NorthEast. Karakoram ranges have several peaks that are more than 7500 m
high. C limate varies from place to place. It is mainly tropical below 1500
m, but from 1500 to 3600 m it becomes temperate and above 3600 m it is
alpine. Lichen fl ora has great di ve rsi ty due to great altitudinal variations
co upled with ra infall factor which becomes lesser and lesser from east to
west. The lower altitude has less number of spec ies, but their max ium
diversity is discernible at altitudes ranging between 1800 to 2600 m.
Important contributions on this area are made by C. Babington, A.A.
Quraishi , Y. Riisiinen, R. Schubert and O. Klement, D.o. Awasthi, Mamta
Joshi, S.R. Singh, and Krishna Dange. ln spite of these studies, many spec ies
still remai n to be added from unexplored areas of the reg io n. So far, about
550 spec ies under 119 genera are known to occur here and that form about
27.2% of total Indian lichen flora . OUbese, ca 159 ta xa are common with
Eastern Himalayan region and ca 197 taxa with Western Ghats. Foliose
form s are more dom inant than crustose and fruticose-forms . The ratio of
crustose foliose and fruticose species is 2.2 1 : 2.56 : 0. 73. Considering the
speci es di versity, we find that family Parrneliaceae is largest and represented
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by Physc iaceae (81 spec ies, 12
by 86 species f!nd I lァセAイ。Ljッ
genera), Co llemataceae (44 spp. , 3 genera), Lecanoraceae (42 spp., 5
genera), Teloschistaceae (34 spp., 3 genera), Csneaceae (32 spp., 6 genera),
Ramalinaceae (15 spp. , I genus), Lecideaceae (14 spp ., 3 gene ra),
Pertusariaceae ( 14 spp ., 2 genera), and Peltigeraceae (13 spp ., I genu s).
Out of 11 species of Acarospora known fro m India, 9 spec ies occur in
temperate and alpine areas of Western Himalayan region. Similarly out of
17 spec ies of Rhizocarpon, 12 species occur_here . The largest genus
Lecanora comprises 32 spec ies, followed by Ca/op/aca (26 spp.),
Leptogiul11 (22 spp.), Col/ema (2 1 spp.), Usnea (21 spp.). Heteroderl11ia
(20 spp.), Rama/ina (15 spp.), Parmotrel11a ( 14 spp.), Buellia (\3 spp.),
Cetraria (13 spp.). Besides about 22 genera viz. Anaptychia, Aspicilia,
Cande/ariel/a, Carbonea, Coniocybe, Cornicu/aria, Dime/aena, Eig/era,
Evernia, G/ypho/echia, Lempho/emma, Me/anolecia, Peccania, Physconia,
Placodiull1, Placyn thium, Psi/o /ech ia , Rhizop /aca, Th e /en el/a.
The/ediopsis. Toninia, Xy/ographa are confined only to this region.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
The Western Himalayan Region
201
number of genera with I species
number of genera with 2 species
number of genera with 3 species
number of genera with 4 species
number of genera with 5 species
number of genera with 6 - 10 species
number of genera with II - 15 species
number of genera with 16 - 35 species
=
46
21
10
7
-
=
-
6
II
12
6
Thus, it is interesting to note that maximum number of genera belong
to I or 2 species categories, while maximum species diversity occurs in
the genera belonging to II - 15 and 16 - 35 species categories. The species
having restricted distribution confined to this region are - Aspieilia
a/phop/aea. Allaplyehia eiliaris, A. fusca, Cornieu/aria aeu/cata, C.
odaniel/a. Cetraria is/al1dica. Co/lema cal/ibolrys. Dermalocarpon
minimulII. Evernia divari cara, E. prul1asrri, Hypagylllnia a/pina,
HyporraehYl1a p/urifarmis, LepragiulI1 bul/mull1, Lobaria quereizans,
Me/al1elia g/abratu/a, M sorediosa. Nephroma expal/idum, Panno/rema
mel<lI1olhrix. Peiligera venosa, Physconia lIIuscigena, Siereocau/on
lIIaerocephal/ulII , Xalllharia candelaria, etc.
The Eastern Himalayan Region
It includes Sikkim , Darjeeling district of West Bengal, states of
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya. Mizoram, Naga land and
Tripura. Phytogeographically, these areas fall under two botanical regions
(Jain 1983. 1990), the Eastern Himalaya and the Eastern Indiac However,
for the purpose of lichenological discussions both regions are considered
under one lichenogeographical region, namely the Eastern Himalayan region.
Compared with the Western Himalayan region, the Eastern Himalayan
region has higher rainfall and warmer conditions. The tree line and snow
line are at higher a ltitude by about 300 m. The region consists of high
mountains as well as small to large sized va ll eys with varied climatic
conditions. The majority of peaks average 1800 to 3000 m and some peaks
even rise upto 7500 m. The specia l horse-shoe-shaped arrangement of the
fold of mountains coupled with moisture laden monsoon winds, blowing
across the Bay of Bengal, ensure plenty of rain in most of the places. This
creates high humid climate, conducive for great diversity in the lichen flora.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
An analysis of species diversity in Western Himalayan region leads to the
following categorization.
So far, only a few areas in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,
Nagaland, Sikkim and Darjeeling district of West Bengal have been
explored and studied, while major part of the region remains to be explored
yet. The main contributions made from this region are by J. Stirton, Mueller
Arg., G.L. Chopra, S. Kurokawa, D.D. Awasthi, M. Agarwal, P.G.
Patwardhan, M.B. Nagarkar, K.P. Singh, and G.P. Sinha. The flora
comprises a total of ca 759 species disposed in 147 genera, that constitute
about 37.5% of total Indian lichen flora. The ratio of crustose, foliose and
fruticose species is 4.18 : 2.15 : 1.26. The flora closely resembles Western
Ghats as evidenced by 224 species that are common to both the regions.
The flora shows great diversity in its constituent elements. The largest family
is Parmeliaceae, represented by 95 species and 15 genera, followed by
Graphidaceae (90 spp ., 8 genera), Usneaceae (45 spp., 4 genera),
Pyrenulaceae (40 spp., 2 genera), Co llemataceae (25 spp., 2 genera),
Arthoniaceae (24 spp., 4 genera), Lecanoraceae (22 spp., 2 genera) and
Pertusariaceae (23 spp. , 2 genera). Genuswise, the diversity is different.
Genus Cladonia is the largest with 48 species, followed by Graphis (36
spp .), Usnea (34 spp.), Heterodermia (29 spp.), Graphina (26 spp.),
Lecanora (21 spp.), Buellia (20 spp.), Parmotrema (19 spp.), Leptogiul1l
(19 spp.), and Anlhracothecium (18 spp.).
About 16 genera including a monotypic Awasthiella are confined only
to this region . They are Acroschyphus, Asterolhyriul1l, Echinoplaca,
Gyalideopsis, Gymnoderma, Hymen elia, Lasal/ia, Leprocaulon,
Mycocaliciul1l , Mycoporllm , Mycoblastus , Ph/yetis, Pilophorus,
Plalismatia, and Siphula. An analysis of species diversity in Eastern
Himalayan region leads to the following categorisation.
number of genera with I species
number of genera with 2 species
number of genera with 3 species
number of genera with 4 species
number of genera with 5 species
number of genera with 6 - 10 spec ies
number of genera with II - 20 species
number of genera with 21 - 30 species
number of genera with 31 - 50 species
-
-
=
-
=
61
20
20
6
3
19
12
3
,
0
Thus, it is interesting to note that majority of the genera belong to I,
2,3 and 6-10 species category while maximum species diversity occurs in
the genera belonging to last two categories. Some characteristic crustose
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
202
taxa occur only in this region are - Anthracothecium assamiense, A.
maculalum, Arthonia Iranslucens, AlVasthiel/a indica, Aulaxina uniseptata,
Crypwthecia candida, Celraria delavayi, C. isidiophora, Coenogonium
himalayense, Graphina acharii. The foli ose species are Heterodermia
lutescens. Hypogymnia lValliana, HYPolrachyna rigidula, H. scywdes,
Parmotrema zol/ingeri, Peltigera lIIalacea. Platismatia erosa, Sticla
platyphylloides, Umbiliearia yunana, etc. and fruticose spec ies are
Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides, Bryoria confusa, B. himalayana,
Baeolllyces pachypus, Cladonia farinacea. Pilophorus awasthianum,
Ramalina himalayensis. Slereocauion togashii. Usnea pectillata, etc.
The Western Dry Region
It covers the states of Punjab and Rajas than. Lichen reports are not
known from the Punjab area. In Rajasthan , the Aravalli hills lie across the
state, but have not been well explored lichenologically except a sporadic
collection frolll a plateau, Mt. Abu. The low and irregular rainfall and
extremes of temperatures both during summer and winter months give rise
a somewhat entirely different climate for growth of a different kind of lichen flora in comparison to ot her region s of th e country. Saxicolous
cyanophilous lichens belonging to genera Col/ema, Leptogiu1l1, Peltula,
Phyl/iscum, etc. are more dO,!,inant here. So far, 39 species di sposed in
24 genera are recorded. In term s of lichen diversity, the area is interesting
as ce rtain ge nera viz. Anema. Astroplaea, Heppia, Plaeolecis ,
Zahlbrucknerella. etc. occur only in this region . However, more explorations from other ranges of Aravalli hills may unfold the existence of many
more taxa.
The Gangetic Plains
Gangetic Plains stretch from eastern R'!iasthan through plains of Uttar
Pradesh to Bihar and Bengal. The lichen fl ora of this region has also not
been worked out thoroughly. The Upper Gangetic Plain has only few spec ies
of crustose genera viz. Lecanora, Endocarpon, Lecidea, etc. here and there
on the walls as well as on stones where some humidity is avai lab Ie. The
lichen flora in Lower Gangetic Plains particularly in 24-Perganas of West
Bengal, show a great divers ity due to high humid conditions. The islet
forests of Sunderbans are full of crustose forms. A total of ca 224 species,
distributed in 63 genera are reported from thi s region. Of these 208 species
are crustose, 8 are foliose and remaining 8 are fruticose species. Some
statistics abo ut the species diversity show that family Graphidaceae is the
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
203
largest with ca 29 species, followed by Opegraphaceae with ca 24 species,
Trypetheliaceae again with 24 species, Physciaceae and Pyrenulaceae both
with 18 species each. Amongst the genera Opegrapha is the largest genus
with about 13 species, followed by Arthonia with ca 12 species,
Anthracothecium with 11 species, Bacidia and Trypethelium with 9 species
in each . Besides, 3 genera Crypto/echia, Enterographa, Gyrostomum are
known to grow only in this region.
The Central India
The Central India comprises Madhya Pradesh, parts of Orissa,
Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The lichen flora of this area is also not fully
known. Only Pachmarhi, a summer hill station in Madhya Pradesh, has
been investigated by S.R. Singh and D.D. Awasthi . About 48 species,
distributed in 23 genera are known to occur here. There is not much diversity
in the flora. The common species of common genera viz. Bacidia, Buellia,
Caloplaca, Diplotomma, Graph is, Graphina, Parmotrema, Pyxine, etc.
grow on the stones as well as on trees .
•
The Western Ghats
The Western Ghats cover a distance of about 1600 km ., extending
from the Tapti ValIey in the north of Gujarat to Kanyakumari in Tamil
Nadu, and consist of series of hill ranges running north-south along the
west coast traversing the states ofGujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka,
Kerala and Tamilnadu. These hill ranges are more or less continuous with
a major discontinuity in the Palghat gap separating the Nilgiri ranges from
the Anamalais. The exact boundaries of Western Ghats are not sharp, as
many spurs of Western Ghats enter into Deccan and merge with the
mountains of Eastern Ghats.
However, for boundary delimitations, the concept of Sub ram ani am .
and Nayar (1974) and Nair and Daniel (1986) has been adopted. The
climate is mainly tropical with annual rainfaII varying from 2350 mm in
the north to 7450 mm in the south. These conditions help to sustain luxuriant
and diverse lichen flora. Lichens grow profusely in evergreen forests called
Sho\as, as mentioned earlier. The low hilI ranges of Western Ghats have
comparatively poor lichen diversity in drier places, but in moist shady places
macrolichen forms ofPhysciaceae, Parmeliaceae grow in association with
microliooen forms of Arthoniaceae, Physciaceae, Lecideaceae, etc. The
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
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optimum growth of lichen di versity is found between 1000 to 2400 m in
the high hill ranges of the south Western Ghats. The crustose forms of
families Graphidaceae, Lecanoraceae, Thelotremataceae, Pyrenulaceae and
foliose and fruiticose form s of Parmeliaceae, Lobariaceae, Usneaceae,
Cladoniaceae, Stereocaulaceae, etc. predominate in most of the places. The
lichen diversity may be evident from the fact that ca 800 species disposed
in 519 crustose, 220 foliose and 61 fruticose forms within 140 genera, are
known to occur in Western Ghats, and that is the highest estimate recordced
so far for any lichenogeographical region in India. The flora of this region
comprises ca 39.5% of the total Indian lichen flora. The fl ora ofPalni Hills
comprises about 3 18 spec ies in 75 genera and that ofN ilgiri hills, 117
species within 2 1 genera of macrolichens. A sma ll collecti on of lichens
from the rain forests of Silent Valley revealed 77 species. During the last
two decades D.o . Awasthi, K. P. Singh, P.G. Patwardhan, C.R. Kulkarni ,
A.V. Prabhu, and U. Makhija also added numerous taxa to the fl ora of
Western Ghats. If we see the diversity of species at family and generic
leve l we find that the largest family in this region is Graphidaceae with
about 97 species and 5 genera ranks first in order of dominance. It is
followed by Parmeliaceae with about 95 spec ies and 12 genera; Physciaceae
with about 76 species and 10 genera; Pyrenulaceae with about 57 species
and 6 genera ; Thelotremataceae with about 5 1 species and 4 genera;
Trypetheliaceae with about 42 species and 6 genera; Co llemataceae with
about 40 species and 3 genera; Usneaceae with about 28 species and I
genus; Pertusariaceae with about 26 species and 2 genera; Arthoniaceae
with abo ut 20 species and 4 genera. Graphis is the largest genus with about
38 species, followed by Ocellularia and Parmotrema with about 31 species
each ; Thelolrema with about 30 species; Usnea with about 29 species;
Lep logium with about 26 species ; Graphina with about 25 species; and
Pelligera with about 23 species. An analysis of species diversity in this
region leads to the following categorisation:
number of genera with I spec ies
number of genera with 2 species
number of genera with 3 species
number of genera with 4 species
number of genera with 5 species
number of genera with 6 - 10 species
number of genera with II - 20 species
number of genera with 21 - 30 species
number of genera with 3 1 - 40 species
=
67
15
II
7
6
9
15
=
7
3
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Thus, it is interesting to note that maximum number of genera belong
to 1, 2, 3, 6-10, 11-20 species categories. The diversity ofthis region is
further enriched by the occurrence of numerous genera viz. Byssophragmia.
Catapyrenium. Catinaria. Conotrema. Cyphelium. Dendriscocaulon.
Diploicia. Heppsora (monotypic). Heterocyphelium. Leioderma.
Leptorhapis. Physcidia. Physma. Pyrgillocarpon. Pyrgillus. Relicina.
Thelocarpon. etc. and characteristic species viz. Brigantiaea ionexcipula.
Bulbothrix bulbochaeta. Candelaria indica. Catillaria nilgirienSis.
Gyalecta tropica. Hypotrachyna revoluta. Pannaria stylophora. Parmelina
indica. P. simplicior. Pseudocyphellaria argyracea. Physcidia
cylindrophora. Pyxine nilgiriensis. Sticta cyphellulata. Stereocaulon
austroindicum. Thelotrema thelotremoides, etc. which are confined to this
region only.
The Eastern Ghats and Deccan Plateau
Unlike the Western Ghats, this region has not high ranges of
mountains and consists of much broken isolated hills. The lichen flora of
this area has not been extensively worked out. However, from the data
available, this region has about 31 species distributed in 23 genera. An
economically important genus Roccella is widely distributed here.
Andaman and Nicohar Islands
Oceanic islands have always been interesting for botanical studies.
They have contributed much to our knowledge on speciation, adaptability,
colonisation, evolution, extinction and conservation of endemic species.
Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in Bay of Bengal form an arched SIting
of about 300 islands, covering セ@ area of about 8300 sq. kms. The lichen
flora of these places is typicallY a tropical one and starts right from the
beach forests. The unique feature of the lichen flora is the occurrence of
numerous endemic species. This uniqueness and diversity of the flora is
due to heavy mist over the forests during morning hours, high rainfall from
May to November and constant sea currents on accounts of high winds
that keep the forests moist throughout the year. These factors help in
colonization of the various corticolous and foliicolous communities
belonging to crustose families Arthoniaceae, Pyrenulaceae, Thelotremataceae, Graphidaceae, etc. and few foliose forms of Physciaceae. In fact,
these small islands are the store houses of various novelties and need to be
explored thoroughly to uncover the hidden lichen wealth. The diversity of
lichens in these islands is so high that a small collection of Sulpiz Kurz.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
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206
made during 1867, revealed 63 species. Foliicolous taxa al so occur in
variety and abundance, Important contributions made from this area are
by Ajay Singh , P.G . Patwardhan, U. Makhij a, M.B . Nagarkar and P.K.
Sethy. Crustose forms are the dominant component of the forests of these
islands. So far, a total of about 307 species distributed in 66 genera are
known to occ ur here. Of these 283 species are crustose and 24 species are
foliose forms. About 66 taxa are common in distribution with Western
Ghats. Some stati st ics on the di versity of lichens in th is region show that
family Pyrenulaceae is the largest with 44 species distributed in 5 genera.
This is followed by Thel otremataceae (38 spp. , 5 genera), Graphidaceae
(36 spp" 4 genera), Trichothe liaceae (36 spp., 4 genera), Trypetheliaceae
(35 spp., 6 genera), Opegraphaceac (16 spp., 5 genera), Arthoniaceae (15
spp., 5 ge nera), Physc iaceae ( 10 spp., 2 genera), Col lemataceae (9 spp., 3
genera), Ecto lechiaceae (9 spp., 4 genera), etc. Amongst the genera. Parina
is the largest genus with about 32 species, followed by Pyrenula (24 spp.),
Ocelllliaria (19 s pp. ), Graphina and Th elotrema (17 spp. each),
Trypethelillm ( 14 spp .), Myreatrema (12 spp.), Opegrapha (11 spp.),
Graphi5 (10 spp.), Anthracathecium ( 10 spp,), Cryptothecia (8 spp,),
Parmentaria (8 spp,), Laurera (7 spp.), etc, A look on the species diversity
leads to the following categorisation:
number of genera with I species
number of genera with 2 species
number of genera with 3 species
number of genera with 4 species
number of genera with 5 species
number of genera with 6 - 10 species
number of genera with II - 25 species
=
28
=
\I
=
6
5
5
-
5
-
6
-
Thus, it is evident that maximum number of genera of the region
belong to I and 2 species category. This divers ity is furthe r enriched by
the occurrence of numerous species of genera viz. Aspidathelium, Bot/aria,
Chroodisclls, Cryptolhelium, Laisalama, Lafflammia. MelampylidiZlln,
Millksia, Nadvornikia, Phylloblastia, Raciborskiella, etc . which are
confined here only.
PHYTOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFINITIES
Like higher plants, lichens also show significant affinities with the
flora of adjacent and di stant regions. This has contributed much to the
richness and di versity of the flora , There are many lichen species in Indian
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
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207
flora that have fairly widespread distribution on the global level, while on
the other hand some species have limited distribution in India and adjoining
regions. In the absence of a complete knowledge of the flora, in general,
we can say that the Eastern Himalayan lichens show closer affinity with
the lichens of Sino-Japanese and South-East Asian countries . Some of the
lichens common to India and China are: Caloplaca handelii, Bulbolhrix
selschwanensis, Celraria delavayi, Leptogium pedicel/alum, Slicla
henryana, S. nylanderiana, S. platyphyl/oides, etc. Similarly taxa common
with Japan are: Bacidia hakonensis, Col/ema japonicum, lcmadophyl/a
coronata, Lobaria kurokawae, Pyrenula impressa, Sulcaria virens, Usnea
orientalis, Parmelina rhytidodes, etc. Resemblance with South-East As ian
elements is exhibited by : Celraria latejlava, Celrelia sanguinea,
HYPolrachyna koyaensis, H. physcioides, Phlyclel/a himalayensis,
Parmelina expal/ida, P perisidians, etc. The lichens from the Western
Himalayas show a closer affinity to the European elements. This is indicated
by the species : Catraria laureri, Dermalocarpon hepalicum, Aspicilia
caesiocinerea, Pelligera horizomalis, Col/ema auriculawm, C.
subnigrescens, Evernia divaricala, Leplogium subtile, L. lenuissimum,
Chrysolhrix chlorina, etc. African elements are also common among the
lichens found in our country, particularly in Western Ghats. Cryplolhecia
stirlonii, HYPolrachyna degelii, Parmelina wal/ichiana, Parmo/rema
pseudonilgherrense, P cooperi, P direagens, Pseudoparmelia malaccl!l1sis,
P pustulescens, etc. are some selected examples of such species.
Certain species show disjunct distribution. Glypholechia scabra,
Lecanora pellala, which occur in the dry Western Himalayas, Central Asia
and rocky mountains of America and Peru in South America; Hypotrachyna
dactylifera in Meghalaya (India) and South America; Leplogium papil/osum
in Western Ghats and Central America; Haemalomma leprarioides in
Darjeeling and Brazil; Parmotrema margarilalum in Western Ghats and
North America; Parmelina mulleri in Himachal Pradesh and South
America; Thelolrema velalum in Andamans and Central America, etc. can
be cited as examples for this.
Besides, there are numerous pantropical, cosmopolitan and temperate
circumpolar elements in the flora. Cosmopolitan elements which occur
widely in Europe, Asia, Africa and America are Calicium abielinum,
Caloplaca cilrina, Candelaria concolor, Cladonia bacillar is, C. grayi,
Collema subjlaccidum, Helerodermia obscurala, Nephroma helvelicum,
Parmelia sulcala, Pqrmolrema reliculalum , Pelligera spuria,
Phaeographis inusla, Phaeophyscia hispidula, P orbicularis, Physcia
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208
aipo/ia, Physconia enleroxanlha, Punclelia rZidecla, P borreri, Ramalina
pacifica, Te/oschisles jlavicans, The/olrema /epadinum, Umbilicaria
po/yphy//a, etc. Bu/bolhrix goebe/ii, B. is idiza, Dirinaria piC la,
Parmotrema subtinclorwn, P mellissii, Phaeophyscia endococcinoides,
Sirigu/a e/egans and The/olrema /epadodes are some species with
pantropical distribution . The temperate elements met in the flora are
re presented by Celraria ocullala, Leptogiun salurninum, Parmelina
Guru/enta, Heterodermia comosa, Menegazzia lerebrata, Pseudoparmelia
caperala. Puncle/ia rudecta, Dermatocarpon hepaticum, etc.
The above examples of taxa are based on the studies made in the
past.. Howevere, extensive survey and a detailed study of the distributional
pattern of individual species are required for a better understanding of
the phytogeographical affinities of the Indian lichens.
ENDEMISM
Endemism is the phenomenon of confinement of species, genera or
other groups to a particular area or habitat beyond which they do not
exist. The significance of flora of any region or country is enhanced by
the presence of its endemic elements. The concept and importance of
endemism pertaining to South Indian flowering plants have already been
discussed by Ahmedullah and Nayar (1987) in detail. However for Indian
lichens, no data are yet available. In general, lichens do not show high
degree of endemism as compared to flowering plants, because their spores
and vegetative propagules that can withstand extreme conditions for a long
periods are easily blown off to distant places. They can easily germinate
and start colonisation even if minimum favourable conditions are available.
That is probably the reason why lichens are found even at very high
altitudes, where other plants generally do not grow.
It will be premature to discuss endemism in lichens at a greater
extent, because large tracts of the country still lie unexplored. The exact
di stribution of many species is not known. Many species are known only
by a single gathering or from a single habitat only. However, some data
gathered are presented here on which future studies can be based.
The diverse climatic and habitat conditions in our country provide
favourable conditions for speciation. The probable factors that contribute
to high degree of endemism in Indian flora, as mentioned by Jain (1983)
are : (a) the barrier of high mountain region in the north ; (b) separation of
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
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209
southern region of the country by large water mass of the Arabian Sea,
Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean; (c) the extremely arid condi t ions in the
Western region blocking colonisation ofp ropagules coming through westerly
w inds fro m middle-eastern regions and (d) humid tropical condit ions in
Western Ghats and North- Eastern region. An analys is of endemi c taxa
shows that out of the estimated about 202 1 species of Indian lichens, 23%,
w hi ch means a bo ut 46 6 spec ies seems to be e ndemic w ithin Indi an
bo un da ri es. High degree of endemi sm is observed amongst the crustose
ge nera, probabl y because of the simple nature of the ir tha llus. The
distribution and concentration of endemic species in a part ic ular region is
an index to the overall biogeography of the area. A large number of endemic
spec ies occur in moist tropica l and subtropical forests and have restricted
di strib ution in a partic ular lichenogeographi cal region. However, certa in
s pec ie s s how ex te nde d di s tributi on and gr ow in m o re t ha n o ne
li chenogeograph ical zone, therefore, inc reas ing the number of endemic
species in a particular lichenographi cal zone. A region wise d istribution of
endemic taxa in eac h Iichenogeographical region is listed be low :
Name of the
Lichenogeographical
region
Total No.
of species
in India
No. of Endemic
species
Percentage
of endemism
I. Western Hi malayan
Region
550
22
4
2. Eastern Hima layan
Region
759
133
17.5
3. Western Dry Region
39
6
15.3
224
14
6.2
48
4
8.3
800
16 1
20. 1
7. Easte rn Ghats
& Deccan Pl ateau
31
4
12.9
8. Andaman
& Nicobar Islands
307
73
23.7
4. Gangetic Plain
5. Cent ral India
6. Weste rn Ghats
Thus, it is interesting to note that the highest number of e ndem ic
species occur in Western Ghats, followed by Eastern Hima layan region,
Andaman and Nicoba r Islands, Weste rn H imalaya n region, etc., and
therefore, these regions can be considered as centres of ri ch lichen
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
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endemism. The first ten lichen families showing high degree of endemism
according to their number of species on all India level are Graphidaceae
with 70 species, followed by Trypetheliaceae (45 spp.), Pyrenulaceae (44
spp.), Arthoniaceae (40 spp.), Thelotremataceae (39 spp.), Physciaceae (34
spp.), Trichotheliaceae (34 spp.), Parmeliaceae (24 spp.), Opegraphaceae
(15 spp.), and Pertllsariaceae (9 spp.).
At the generic level, lichens show little endemism. There are only
two monotypic genera viz. Awasthiella and Heppsura. occuming in Eastern
Himalayan region and Western Ghats respectively. An analysis of the first
ten genera showing high degree of endemism according to their number of
species on all India basis are Graphina (26 spp.), Trypethelium (19 spp.),
Graphis and Purina (18 spp. each), Laurera (17 spp.), Ocellularia (17
spp.), Buellia (16 spp.), CiJ'pt()thecia (15 spp.), Ditremis and Parmenlaria
(IS spp. each).
Some of the genera containing high number of endemic species and
individual endemic species occurring in differnet lichenogeographical
regions are listed below:
Western Himalayan Region
Genera: Lecanura (4 spp.), Caluplaca (2 spp.).
Species : Anaptychia pselldurumeri. Aspicilia almorensis, Caloplaea
almorensis. C. p indarel1sis. Jrrpogymnia alpina. Lecannra dwaliensis.
Parmelia lI1ussooriensis. Physcia gomukhensis, Stereocau/on himalayanse.
Umbilicaria j il/gralensis.
Eastern Himalayan Region
Genera: Graphina (12 spp.). Graphis (12 spp.), Arthonia (5 spp.),
Lecidea (4 spp.). Arthothelium. Bacidia, Buellia, Cetraria, Cryptolhecia
and Hypogymnia all with 3 species each.
Species: Acarospora indica, Anthracotheciwn cristate/lum, A.
pustuliferum, Arthonia collect iva, A. recedens. A ulaxina uniseptata,
Baeomyces pachypus, Buellia pinicola, Cetraria isidioidea, C. melaloma,
Coenogonium himalayense, Col/ema hookeri, Graphis assamensis,
Heterodermia indica, H. togash;;, Hypogymn;a thomsoniana, Hypotrac-
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2I I
hyna rigidula. Nephroma sikkimense, Parmelina manipurensis,
Phaeographis indica, Usnea mekista, etc.
Western Dry Region
Species,' Heppia trichophora, Phylliscum abuense, Physcia
abuensis, Thyrea indica, Zahlbrucknerella indica.
Gengetic Plain
Species,' Buellia diorista, Endocarpon nigrozonatllm, E. rosellllm,
E. subrosellum.
Central India
Species: Buellia quartziana, B. subgalaziouana, Diplotomma
egasporum, Rinodina makenziei.
Western Ghats
Genera,' Ocellularia (12 spp.), Parmentaria (9 spp.), Ditremis (8
spp.), Laurera (8 spp.), Usnea (8 spp.), Phaeographis (7 spp.), Buellia (6
spp.), Cryptothecia (6 spp .), Pertusaria (6 spp.), Graphina (5 spp.).
Species: Anlhracothecium awaslhii, A. nanosporum, Arlhonia
inconspicua, Arthothelium awasthii, Brigantiaea nigra, Bulbothrix
bulbochaeta, Catillaria ni/giriensis, C. obscura, Heppsora indica,
Hypotrachyna coorgiana, Lethothelium indicum. Leptogium indicllm,
Parmelina simplicior, P dodapella, Parmotrema
kamatii, Usnea
nilgirica. U allstroindica. Stereocaulon indicllm, etc.
Eastern Ghats and Deccan Plateau
Species : BlIellia hemispherica, Caloplaca orissensis, Naevia
pandani, Roccella belangeriana.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Genera : Pyrenula, (8 spp.), Cryptothecia and Ditremis (6 spp. each),
Stirtonia, Thelo trema, Ocellularia and Parmentaria, (4 spp. each),
Pleurotrema, Laurera and Myreotrema, (3 spp. each), etc.
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Species: Arthonia catenatula, Arthothelium bessale, Astrothelium
subvariolosum, Bottaria awasthii, Clathroporina duplicans, Ditremis
andamanica, Laurera alboverruca, Minksia alba, Ocellularia guptei,
Pleurotrema corticola, Pyrenula andamanica, P. mestophoriza, Thelotrema
rugetulum.
RARE LICHENS
Our knowledge on the rare lichens is indeed poor. This is because of
inadequate knowledge on the full flora of the country. We do not have
complete data on exact location and distribution of individual species.
Population studies on Indian lichens are also completely lacking. We have
also not analysed fully even the available data from literature and
collections in herbaria. In spite of all these lacunae, some informations on
rare and interesting lichens of India are available. Patwardhan (1983) has
already made some observations on the rare and endemic lichens from
Western Ghats, South Western India. Similar type of studies are needed on
other regions of the country also. What is required in the present situation
is concerted efforts by individuals and institutions to make vigorous searches
for specific lichens and to confirm whether they are really rare. According
to the present estimation about 20% species, that is about 404 species are
rare in Indian flora. Most of these are neoendemics having restricted
distribution in a small area in a lichenogeographic region, while certain
ッエセ・イ@
species have a wide distribution in India. Some of the rare lichens
are listed below, alongwith an indication of their presently known
distribution.
Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides, Corticolous; alpine region of Sikkim.
Anaptychia pseudoromeri, Terricolous; Uttar Kashi (Uttar Pradesh) .
Anthracothecium assamiense, Corticolous; Assam, Kerala and Tamil
Nadu.
Arthonia arctata, Corticolous; Assam.
Aspicilia aimorensis, Saxicolous; Almora (Uttar Pradesh).
Aulaxina uniseptata, Foliicolous; Barduar Reserve forest, Kamrup
(Assam).
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214
Buellia indica, Saxicolous; Palni hills (Tamil Nadu) and Manipur.
Bu/bothrix bu/bochaela, Corticolous; Shembaganur, Kodaikanal
(Tamil Nadu).
Ca/enia conspersa, Follicolous; Manipur and Nagaland .
Ca/op/aca pindarensis, Saxicolous; Pindari glacier (Uttar Pradesh).
Cetraria hypotrachyna, Corticolous; Manipur.
C. isidioidea, Corticolous; Darjeeling (West Bengal).
Collema hookeri, Corticolous; Lachen (Sikkim).
Diplotomma manipurense, Saxicolous; Manipur and Nagaland.
Glyphis duriscu/a, Corticolous; Assam.
Heppsora indica, Saxicolous; Palni hills (Tamil Nadu).
Heterodermia logashi, Corticolous; Sikkim.
Hypogymnia thomsoniana, Corticolous; Sikkim.
H walliana, Corticolous; Manipur.
Hypotrachyna rigidu/a, Corticolous; Nagaland; Lachen (Sikkim) and
Darjeeling (West Bengal).
H scytodes, Corticolous; Darjeeling (West Bengal).
Maronea manipurensis, Rhamnicolous; Manipur.
Me/anolheca coaclella, Corticolous; Assam.
Me/aspilea insitiva, Parasitic on Pertusaria; Assam.
Mycobilimbia ca/cullensis, Corticolous; Calcutta (West Bengal).
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
Awasthiella indica, Saxicolous; Manipur and Nagaland.
215
Parmelina manipurensis, Saxicolous and corticolous; Manipur.
P. simpliciar. Corticolous; Maharashtra.
Parmolrema larissima, Corticolous; Calcutta (West Bengal).
P. zollingeri, Saxicolous; Manipur.
Peltigera pindarensis, Saxicolous; Phurkia, Pindari glacier (Uttar
Pradesh).
Phaeographis manipurensis, Corticolous; Manipur.
Physcia abuensis, Corticolous; Mount Abu (Rajasthan).
P. gamukhensis, Saxicolous; Uttar Kashi (Uttar Pradesh).
Pilophorus awaslhianum, Saxicolous; Darjeeling (West Bengal).
Pyxine palniensis, Saxicolous; Palni hills (Tamil Nadu).
Rhizocarpon alpicola, Saxicolous; Himachal Pradesh.
Usnea picloides, Corticolous; Nilgiri hills (Tamil Nadu).
ECONOMIC USES
The economic uses oflichens are well known since time immemorial.
These varies from place to place. Lichens and the lichen substances derived
from them have great economic value as food, antibiotics, UV absorbers,
antioxidants, anti-cancer agents, dye stuffs, fodder, perfumes, etc. In India,
they are mainly used in dyeing, flavouring, smoking tobacco and cigars,
sambar masala, scenting soaps and cosmetics and the manufacture of
'Dhoop' and 'Hawan Samagri '. Besides, a large number of tribal population
in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Santhal Parganas in West Bengal,
and Chotanagpur in Bihar, use many species such as Helerodermia
tremulans, EvemiaslrUm cirrhatum. Parmolrema reliculalum, P. linc/orum,
Ramalina subcomplanala. Usnea longissima, Roccella monlagnei, R.
belangeriana, etc. as spices and flavouring agents to increase the taste and
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
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Nephroma sikkimense, Terricolous & Corticolous; Sikkim.
fragrance of non-vegetarian preparations, pulses and other vegetables. It
is also interesting to note that a large number of tribal population (Brij Lal
et al., 1985) ofBaiya, Bhit, Bhielala, Gond, Korka and Muria communities
inhabiting Bastar, Bilaspur, Dhar, Jhabua, Mandla, Shahdol and Surguja
districts of Madhya Pradesh, bring lichens to their local markets for sale
to earn money for their livelihood. It is also reported (Saklani and Upreti,
1992) that the Lepchas and Nepalese in certain localities in Sikkim state
use lichens in many ways. The thalli of Heterodermia diademata and
Peltigera polydactyla are used for cuts and injuries to stop bleeding and
also as antiseptic. The thallus of Everniastrum cirrhatum is boiled, fried
and eaten as vegetable. Similarly thalli of Stereocaulon himalayense are
widely used for curing the blisters of the tongue and urinary trouble. Lichens
are also used in industry because they contain aromatic resinoids (Sarin
and Atal ,1976). The bulk ofIndian lichens for this purpose, commercially
known as 'Charilla' or 'Jhoola'. 'Salaj phool' and 'Haraphool' are
transported from Western and Central Himalayas and are sold in the market
at a rate of about Rupees 2500 to 4000 per tonne. About 1000 tonnes of
lichen material are collected from the nature to meet the industrial
requirements every year. 'Charilla' consists of Everniastrum nepalense and
E. cirrhatum and is utilized by the manufacturers of smoking tobacco,
kitchen masalas and 'dhoop'. Parmotrema nilgherrense popularly known
as 'Salajphool' is used in leather industry. The 'Haraphool' which is a
mixture of Usnea lucea and Ramalina subcomplanata is used as an
adulterant of 'Charilla' or as an ingredient in 'dhoop' mixtures. In the
folklores also, the medicinal uses oflichens are often mentioned. Peltigera
can ina is eaten as a remedy for liver ailments. Lichens have also been used
as bio-indicators of air pollution. Apart from these, there are many lichen
species in India, which have minor uses. A list (Anonymous, 1962) of some
such lichens along with their distribution, chemical composition and uses
are appended below in tabular form.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
216
Name of species
Distribution
Chemical components
Anaptychia ciliaris
Kashmir
Atranorin, arabitol and
mannitol.
As scent and for cleansing
and whitening hair.
Aspicilia calcarea
Kumaun (Uttar Pradesh)
Erythrin
Red brown dye.
Caloplaca saxicola
Pindari Glacier
(Uttar Pradesh)
Emodin, Parietin and
Teloschistin.
Yellow dye
Candelariella vitellina
Jammu & Kashmir.
Calycin & Pulvic anhydride
Yellow dye.
Cetraria islandica
Almora and Uttarkashi
(Uttar Pradesh)
Fumarprotocetraric acid,
protocetraric acid and
protolichesterinic acid.
Used as human food in
Scandinavian countries and
Iceland in mixture with
cereals and mashed potatoes.
C. pinaslri
Uttarkashi (Uttar Pradesh)
Pinastric acid, Vsnic acid
and vulpinic acid.
Green dye; for poisoning
in Northern Europe.
Chrysolhrix chlorina
Himachal Pradesh
Leprapinic acid, calycin,
arabitol and mannitol.
Brown dye.
Cladonia arbuscula
Sikkim
Fumarprotocetratric acid.
Fodder for reindeer; hot
aqueous solutions used in
Finland for Tuberculosis.
Uses
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
N
- ../
-
tv
Name of species
Distribution
Chemical components
C/adonia pyxidala
Darjeeling (West
Fumarprotocetraric acid.
Ash green dye; expectorant,
used Bengal) & Uttar Pradesh.
for whooping cough.
Dermatocarpon villereum
Mt. Abu (Rajasthan),
Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir,
Tam il Nadu and Uttar
Pradesh.
Ergosterol.
Thall us used as cork substitute
for lining insect collection
boxes.
Dip/aschislis scrupasus
Widely distributed.
Diplosch istic acid.
Brown dye for calico printing.
Evernia prunaslri
Jammu & Kashmi r
Evemic acid.
For scenting soaps and in
preparation of perfumes.
Hypagymnia physodes
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu
& Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh
Atranorin, physodic acid,
physodalic acid, arabitol
and mannitol in traces.
Brown dye; mucilage used as
substitute for gum arabic in
dyeing and in parchment and
cardboard .
Lasallia puslu/ala
Himachal Pradesh, and
Nagaland.
Gyrophoric acid.
Red brown dye.
Uses
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
oc
Name of species
Distribution
Chemical components
Parmotrema abessinicum
Tamilnadu
Atranorin, norlobaridone,
loxodin and protolichesterinic
acid.
Used as food material and
condiments; source of orcinol
and litmus.
Physconia pulverulenta
North-West & Western
Himalayas.
Atranorin
Yellow dye.
Pseudocyphellaria crocata
Arunachal Pradesh,
Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh
and N agaland.
Calycin and pulvic dilactone.
Source of gam bose; brown
dye.
Pseudoparmelia caperala
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu
& Kashm ir, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Tamilnadu & Uttar Pradesh,
Caperatic acid, protocetraric
Brown orange to lemon ye llow
dye.
PuncteJia saxatilis
Ramalina farinacea
ac id, usnic acid,
arabitol and mannitol.
Uses
Sikkim and
Uttar Prades h
Atranorin and
Orange yellow and red brown
salacinic acid.
dye; in calico printing.
Manipur, Tam ilnadu,
Usnic acid, sekikaic acid,
Uttar Pradesh and
West Bengal
norstict ic acid and
mannitol.
Light brown dye; in perfumes
and cosmetics.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
'"
N
Name of species
Distribution
Chemical components
R. jraxinea
Coromandal, Himachal
Pradesh, Manipur and
West Bengal.
usn ic acid and arabitol.
Grey white dye; in perfumes
and cosmetics; mucilage used
as substitute for gum arabic.
R. subcomplanata
Assam, Himachal Pradesh,
Nagaland and Uttar
Pradesh.
Salacinic acid and usnic
acid.
As spices.
Solorina crocea
Western Himalaya.
Solorinic ac id.
Yellow dye.
Teloschistes f1avicans
Karnataka and
Tami lnadu.
Parietin and vicanicin.
Source of gam bose; yellow
dye.
Umbilicaria cylindrica
Darjeeling (West Bengal)
Arabitol and mannitol.
Green brown dye.
Usnea longissima
Arunachal Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Sikkim and West Bengal.
Usnic, Barbatic, Barbatolic,
diffractic, squamatic,
fumarprotocetraric and
evernic acids.
In smoking tobacco; as dhoop
and spices; for filling cushions;
source of antibiotics.
U. lucea
Tamilnadu.
Stictic acid.
As spices.
Xanthoria parie/ina
Kashmir.
Physcion, mannitol, lichenin,
Yellow dye.
Uses
isolichenin and parietinic acid.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
IV
IV
0
221
Like other group of plants, the lichens are also under various types
of threats. But at present we do not have sufficient data on the subject.
The threats to lichens can be grouped into two categories viz. (i) natural
and (ii) man made or biotic. The main natural causes include landslides,
floods, forest fires, etc. During rainy season landslides are frequent in hilly
areas particularly in the Himalayas and north-eastern states. These cause
great damage to the plant communities as a who le and the lichen
communities in particular. Continuous landslides and floods do not allow
lichens to establish themselves on the soil. In this way many terricolous
species of Diploschistes, Cladonia, Pyxine, Lecidea, Lecanora, etc. become
vulnerable. However, a proper study of this aspect is lacking. The forest
fires often destroy trees and virgin forests, resulting in the elimination of
many corticolous species of Parmelia, Hypogymnia, Usnea, Ramalina, etc.
Regeneration of other trees also is affected thereby reducing the chances
of growth of lichen communities in general.
The man-made threats are very apparent particularly because the
traditional life in hilly and forest areas is closely associated with the
vegetation, domesticated animals and wi ldlife. Lichens have very limited
ability to adapt themselves to abrupt environmental changes. Consequently
in any particular habitat they show abundance and diversity only when
various conditions are stable over a long period of time. The major threat
caused by man is the destruction of habitats brought about by various
anthropogenic activities such as construction of roads and dams in the hills,
industria l set ups, urbanisation, agriculture, mineral extraction, etc. As a
result of these many terricolous habitats especially at lowland areas appear
to be at a g"eater risk. Recent surveys have shown that the forests in and
around Ukhrul, Kongpokrnpi and Churachandpur in Manipur; Bomdila,
Tawang, Seppa, New ltanagar, Along and Yingkiong in Arunachal Pradesh;
Kohima, Kephire, Zunheboto, Wokha, etc. in Nagaland and Kolasib in
Mizoram, which were once dense and possessed with rich lichen diversity
have now been eliminated for various reasons. There are records of certain
trees harbouring up to 30 lichen species on their trunks and twigs. A leaf
of Musa or Palm may have up to 12 species offoliicolous lichens growing
on it. The cutting or removal of such plants will naturally invite the risk of
depletion of the species growing on them.
The shifting cultivation, a common practice adopted by tribal societies
in certain parts of the country is another cause responsible for depletion of
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
VULNERABILITY AND MAJOR THREATS
many rich lichen habitats. This causes great threat to corticolous and
foliicolous lichen communities in general, particularly in tropical and
subtropical areas. The foliicolous species of Strigula, Porina, Fellhanera,
Mazosia etc. becoming rarer day by day due to burning of virgin forests
and loss of habitats.
Besides, excessive use of fire-wood in hilly regions, preparation of
charcoal by burning of trees (a practice common in the hill of Meghalaya)
and stone quarrying for construction purposes specially in hills, are the
other factors that lead to deforestation and resultant habitat destruction of
species leading to degradation, depletion and disappearance of lichen
deversity in general.
Environmental pollution caused by the thermal power stations,
industries, etc. is also another threat which affect the lichen vegetation in
certain areas. Its increased quantum is responsible for creating unfavourable
conditions for lichen growth. The Indian Botanic Garden at Howrah and
suburban areas of Calcutta, Bangalore and Lucknow were once richly
inhabited by corticolous conimunities, but now due to atmospheric pollution,
the number of such species has decreased in Lucknow (A. Singh & Upreti,
1984), and the growth of lichens is greatly affected in the Indian Botanic
Garden, Howrah (Das el al., 1986). However, for a detailed knowledge on
the impact of pollution on lichen flora, much more work has to be carried
out.
The over exploitation of many economically important species such
as Parmotrema reticulatum, P. nilgherrense, Everniaslrum nepalense, E.
cirrha/um, Usnea, Ramalina species, etc. in Sikkim Himalaya and recently
from Arunachal Pradesh for various industrial purpose is another major
cause of threat to these species. According to an estimate, about 1000 tonnes
of lichen material is collected every year from the Western and Central
Himalayas.
CONSERVATION
Lichen conservation has not received any attention in India, though
we discuss much about the conservation of biodiversity of different plant
groups from various platforms. This is regrettable in view of their role in
ecosystem function and other similar values like pollution indicators, etc.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
222
Name ofthe
state
Name of the site
Nature of the lichen
community
Shergaon forests
Foliose and Fruticose
forms particularly of
Loharia species
Jung and Bomdir forests
Usneaceae
Yingkiyong forests
Foliicolous
Manipur
Ukhrul, Sirohi
Foliose
Meghalaya
Shoraraim and old
Cherapunjee
Crustose and foliose
(saxicolous)
Mizoram
Ngengpui
Foliose and foliicolous
Nagaland
Japho hills, Thanamere,
Foliose and fruticose
Saramati forests.
Similarly more lichen rich habitats can be identified throughout the
country for conservation.
In situ conservation can also be effected by further demarcation of
lichenologically rich areas as ' lichen sites' within earlier demarcated
boundaries of Biosphere Reserves arNational Parks in the country. While
preparing inventories of species of such areas, lower plants should also be
taken into account for conservation strategies.
Ex situ conservation oflichens has no base line in our country. This
is a difficult task because lichens can not be easily multiplied or
regenerated. However, to some extent the bark inhabiting communities can
be grown in Botanical Gardens under suitable environmental conditions
in different climatic zones. In these gardens, rare, interesting or otherwise
threatened species from disturbed habitats can be rehabilitated by means
of transplantation method for which detailed ecological studies are required.
Transplantation of saxicolous communities appears to be simple and some
success has already been achieved (Richardson, 1967) in case of foliose
species. A technique to transplant intact saxicolous communities is already
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
224
known (Seaward, 1976). Recently some reseaches have been carried out
(Yamamoto 1991) in the field of tissue culture through which in vitro
culture can be developed and maintained for preserving the diverse gene
bank in lichens.
The excessive collection of lichens can be regulated by making some
legislations. This provision is known to be available in some European
countries like Britain and Poland.
Besides there are many other aspects of conservation which need not
be emphasised except most important one is to create public awareness
about lower plants in general by giving wide publicity through available
media. Lastly, a judicious planning and use of resources would help long
way to conserve biodiversity for posterity.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
225
226
Ahmedullah, M. & Nayar, M.P. 1987. Endemic Plants ofthe Indian Origin
Vol. I. Botanical Survey of Indiar Calcutta : 1-263.
Anonymous 1962. The Wealth of India 6 L-M: 81-90 CSIR.
Awasthi, D.O. 1965. Catalogue of the lichens from India, Nepal, Pakistan
& Ceylon. Beiheft zur Nova Hedwigia 17: 1-137.
Awasthi, D.O. 1988. A key to the Macrolichens of India and Nepal. J
Hallori Bot. Lab. 6S : 207-302.
Awasthi, D.o. 1991. A key to the Microlichens ofindia, Nepal & Sri Lanka.
Biblio. Lichenol. 40: 1-337.
Brij Lal e.t. al. 1985. Ethnobotanical utilization of lichens by the tribals of
Madhya Pradesh. J Econ. Tax. Bot. 7(1): 203-304 .
Clarke, C.B . 1898. On the Botanical sub areas of British India. J Linn.
Soc. Bot. 34 : 1-146.
Das, T.M., K.N. Roychowdhury and Siddhartha Roy 1986. Occurrence
and growth of lichens in the Indian Botanic Garden. Howrah, with
special reference to temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and
chemical constituents oflichenlbark. Indian Biologist 18(1): 1-10
Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1992. Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth's
LiVing resources. Report Compiled by the world Conservation
Monitoring Centre. Chapman & Hall, London.
Hooker, J.D. 1907. Sketch of the Flora of British India. Imperial Gazetteer
of India (3)1. (4) : 157-212.
Jain, S.K. 1983. Flora and Vegetation of India, an outline. Pub. &
Information Directorate, C.S.I.R., New Delhi. 1-24 pp.
Jain, S.K. 1990. Botanical regions and flora of India. Everyman:S Science
90: 213-233.
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REFERENCES
Nair, N.C. & P. Daniel 1986. The fl oristic diversity of the Western Ghats
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Pande, S.K. 1958. Some aspec ts of Indian Hepaticology. J Indian Bot.
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Patwardhan, P. G. 1983 . Rare and Endemi c lichens in the Western Ghats,
South Western India. In : Jain, S.K. and R.R. Rao (eds.), An assessment
of threatened plants of India . 3 18-322. Howrah .
Richardson, D.H.S. 1967. The transp lantat ion of li chen thalli to solve
some taxono mi c problem s in Xanthoria parielina (L.) Th. Fr.
U chenologist 3: 386-391.
Seaward, M.R.D. 1976. Performance of Lecanora mum/is in an urban
environment. In : D.H . Brown, D.L. Hawksworth and R.H. Bailey
(eds.), Lichenology, Problems and progress, pp: 323-357 Academic
Press London.
Singh, A. 1980. Lichen ology in Indian su bcontinent 1966-1977. Economic
Bal. Inforlll. Service. p. I-1 05. Nat. Bot. Res. Institute, Lucknow.
Singh, A. & O.K. Upreti , 1984. The lichen genus Endocarpon in India.
Candollea 39: 539-548.
Subramaniam. K. & M.P. Nayar 1974. Vegetation & Phytogeography of
the Western Ghats. Ln : Ecology and biography in India M .S. Mani
(ed .) : 178-196 . Junk publi shers, The Hague.
Yamamoto, Y 1991 . Plant ce ll c uiture in Japan , progress in prod uction of
usefu l plants metabolities by Japanese enterpri se usi ng plant cell
culture techno logy Tokyo: 58-7 1.
Saklani, A. & Upreti, O.K. 1992. FolK uses of some lichen s in Sikkim. J
Ethnopharmacology 37: 229-233.
Sarin, YK. & C.K. Ata l 1976. Ut il ization of Indi an liche ns for production
of aromati c resin o ids. PAFAI So lv. 33-40.
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Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
227
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Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
LlCHENOGEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS OF INDIA
229
Hiterodermia diademata - A Tropical, Saxicolous foliose (leafy) Lichen
Dirineria Dicta -A Trooical. Saxicolous foliose (Ieafv) Lichen
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
230
Species of corticolous - Ramnuna
One species of temperate. saxicolous foliose (leary, Licben - Leptogium
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
Saxicolous, Crustose Lichen
231
Menegazzia tereprata - A Temperate, Saxicolous foliose (leafy) Lichen
Diploschistus actinostomus
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
232
One species of the genus Peltigera - A Terricolous
(normaUy on mosses) foliose (leafy) Lichen
Euevniastum cirvhatcum - Useful in the form of spices.
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
room of sptoos.
Parmotrema rejiculatum - Useful in the form of spices.
PllJOf111uliia tenet/t§JtUm1 - UseJlill in the
233
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234
234
Epiphyllous Lichen - Species of Strigula and Bacidia
Singh KP and Sinha GP 1997, Lichens, In : Floristic diversity and conservation strategies in India.
Vol1 Cryptogams and Gymnosperms (Mudugal V and Hajara PK eds.), BSI, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India,pp 195-234